The Condor and the Raven
by BreeBree12345
Summary: Amber Waylin, the holder of the witty personality and soul of serial killer Abel Plenkov, is best friends with Dunkelman and Hellerman. What is she to do when someone is killing their way through the Riverton Eight? BugOC
1. Chapter 1

"ONE!

TWO!

THREE!

FOUR!

FIVE!

SIX!

SEVEN!

EIGHT!

NINE!

TEN!

ELEVEN!

TWELVE!"

"The lights, OUT!" Putting my hands over my ears, I tried to drown out the loud cheering. "MIDNIGHT! Alright, this is it! LET THE DAY, BEGIN!"

Rolling my eyes, I turned my head slightly to loom at Alex, "Could he be anymore of a ass?"

Snickering, he punched my arm lightly, "Chill Amber, be happy for once in your life. We're sixteen!"

Sighing, I rubbed my eyes with the palms of my hands, turning to look back in the direction of the stuck-up jock once more.

Yeah, you heard right. Amber Waylin, sixteen years old, with messy black hair and dull gray eyes was born on, you guessed it, Ripper Day. Fun, right? WRONG.

"Happy isn't my thing, Alex. You know that," I mumbled, wanting nothing more than to go back to my lumpy mattress and sleep for the next two years. "Hey, where's Bug?"

He just shrugged before he too turned his attention back to Brandon O'Neil, the number-one man whore in all of Riverton. Also, the self-proclaimed 'leader' of the Riverton eight.

"As you all know, Ripper Day marks two things. One of them bad, one of them good. The good part is that it's the birthday of eight of us here, born sixteen years ago tonight."

Loud cheers from all the teens in the surrounding area was heard.

"Jerome King, hey Jerome," Jerome gave a small smile and wave as everyone cheered, "Alex Dunkelman," he added, Alex raising one hand in recognition, "Jay Chan, with a new Ripper puppet tonight," Jay pursed his lips and raise both of his arms in the air, "Riverton's very own resident emo, Amber Waylin," I scowled at him, seeing him smiling smugly and hearing laughter and some cheers, "Bug Hellerman… Hellerman?"

Turning my head at the sound of bushes rustling, I saw Bug making his way through the crowd to stand next to Alex.

"About time!"

"Better late than never, I suppose," Brandon continued.

"Hey Buggie, where've you been?" I questioned, looking at him curiously.

He glanced at me quickly before looking at the ground, "Sleeping."

"It's okay," Brandon continued, "Bug, uh, takes a little longer cause he's a little slower," I laughed a little but stopped myself when I saw Bug's face.

"Sorry," I quickly muttered, patting his shoulder.

"Moving on, to Penelope Bryte over there by the ambulance who, incidentally, knows God. They speak daily." Brandon joked, getting another chuckle out of everyone. "And then to the beautiful and gorgeous Brittany Cunningham." A couple wolf whistles sounded from the crowd and she shook her head in irritation but smiled anyways. "And last, but certainly not least," he said with a cheeky grin.

"Brandon O'Neil!" everyone shouted.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you very much, you're welcome. Now, it's time for the bad part, people. We of the Riverton eighthave had to share our birthday, with a monster. The serial killer, Abel Plenkov, who died at midnight the day we were born. It's the Ripper."

Brandon told, his expression one of complete seriousness. "Legend has it that we, the Rvierton seven, are the mirrors of Abel Plenkov's personalities. The one's that turned the Ripper in and that, The Ripper still wants revenge,"

Brandon's voice got softer. "So Abel Plenkov is dead, but his ghost isn't. No, it lurks underneath the old railroad bridge. You've seen it. Sleeps in the river, roams the darkest corners of the woods, just waiting for the next Ripper Day to come around. Cause on that day, our birthday, tonight, the Devil has told him that he can take his revenge."

Then Brandon turned and pointed to the river. He raised his voice, "BUT, he can only come out of the river at this spot! And every year, since we have been able, one of us Riverton Eight has volunteered to drive him back into the river, where he belongs! And tonight, is no exception! And I, personally have chosen to volunteer."

My eyes widened, "Well, that's a first." I turned to look at Bug, only to see him shaking in what looked to be relief.

"To volunteer Bug Hellermen, that is." Brandon said.

Bug stood there, his eyes wide. All color seemed to have drained from his face as he stood still, as if he were frozen where he stood.

"It's your turn Bug!" Brandon shouted. "All the rest of us have done it!"

"We will now summon the Ripper from the river. If he appears yet again, then Bug must slay him or we'll all die!"

Shouts of "Can you do it, Bug? Save us!" were heard from all around the campfire.

"If you can hear me Ripper, make yourself known!" Brandon yelled to the river.

Everyone began to shout, "Make yourself known!"

Bug fidgeted nervously. "Hey, Bug, relax. It's just a puppet, not the real thing." I comforted giving him a little push forward.

"Fear ye the Ripper!" they all shouted.

Alex smacked Jerome's shoulder. The blind boy rubbed his hurt shoulder, "What'd I do?"

"Bug's freaking out." He explained.

The sound of branches breaking made everyone turn to face the woods to the left of us. A large hulking figure emerged from behind a tree. It had greasy looking hair and no eyes. Seeing it made me shiver a little bit. Something about that puppet gave me the creeps.

Alex gripped Bug's shoulders and pushed him forward. "It's a puppet. Just knock it over." Bug just stood there and stared at it.

"Ahhh, get in there you pussy!" Brandon cried, pushing Bug forward.

"I can't do this." He said, turning back to look at me and Alex. His eyes were ten times wider than before.

Sirens could be heard and a police car pulled from around the corner. I yelped when I say the lights, and Penelope yelled out, "COPS!"

Rushing forward, I grabbed Bug by the arm and pulled him with me as Alex ran beside us. "Time to go." He said.

We rushed into the woods like everyone else.

"Watch the trees, Jerome!" Alex called to the boy just ahead of us. Racing every which way to dodge the trees (which I was very impressed with how well he managed considering he couldn't see anything around him). Not two seconds after I thought that he accidentally slammed into Alex who in turn, bumped into Bug.

I let out a loud laugh as I saw Bug fall down the hill and into the river. "Nice one, Jerome!"

"Oh, he's still alive! He's okay!" Alex laughed, stumbling down the hill to help Bug up.

"Ahhh, I'm blind, Bug! Not you!" Jerome called out, hanging into a tree with one arm.

I continued to laugh as I ran over to them and wrapped my arm around Bug's shoulder, pulling him the rest of the way out of the water.. "Come on, come on!"

"Why the hell are the cops here?" Alex asked, as we continued to run farther away from the campsite.

"Big log! WOO!" I shouted, jumping over it, the others close behind me.

"What the fuck was that? Why'd they stop us?" Alex laughed.

"Go home! Ripper Day has been officially canceled!"

I chuckled, grabbing Jay's jacket and putting it around Bug's shoulders. I patted his face gently, "You okay, kid?"

He nodded slightly, snuggling a bit deeper in to the jacket.

"Why so glum, chum?" Jay asked Bug, who had water dripping down his still pale face.

"I failed," he said sadly, "Now we're all gonna die and it's my fault."

Shaking my head at him, I ruffled his hair before crouching in front of him, my hand still placed on top of his head. "You know that story is a bunch of bull."

"That's bullshit that Brandon made up. If he was so worried about it, he would have killed it himself." Alex spoke up.

"That puppet was scary." Bug pointed out, still quiet.

"Thanks!" Jay replied, taking obvious pride in his 'masterpiece.'

I scoffed, taking my hand and smacking Jay on the back of the head. "I don't think he meant it as a compliment, genius."

Jay smiled, "You think I'm a genius?"

Rubbing my face in frustration, I stood, preferring to stand behind a tree rather than crouched behind a log, "Yeah, sure. Whatever helps you sleep at night."

"That coat was creepy, you added some moss and grass and shit, right?" Alex asked, looking at Jay.

Tuning out the guys' conversation, I stared out at the old railroad bridge, not very far from where we stood. I hate to say it but the thing gave me the creeps.

"We should go to. Quint's going to kill me if he catches me out this late." Alex's voice snapped me out of my daydream.

I looked around us, but Jay and Jerome mysteriously disappeared. You'd think I would've noticed them leave. Huh. Whatever.

"Amber!"

Looking up, I saw Alex and Bug looking at me. "Yeah?"

"Come on, time to go."

I nodded and jogged over to them. "About time, I'm fucking tired as hell."

Alex nodded, "Yeah, me too. I'll see you guys tomorrow, right?"

I nodded, not really paying attention.

"Yeah, I better go home too. See you tomorrow, Condor." I smiled at him, giving him a quick hug before walking off towards the old railroad bridge.


	2. Chapter 2

Shivering from the cold air, I quickened my pace. Looking around, I couldn't help but feel like someone was watching me. Something wasn't right. Usually, Jay would wait for me before we would cross the bridge together, sort of like a tradition.

"I spit in the river! Bug! Alex! Amber, ple-!"

Looking around frantically, I ran the rest of the way towards the bridge.

"Jay! JAY!" I yelled, trying to make my legs move faster.

As soon as I reached the middle of the bridge, my eyes caught onto something shimmering in the pale moonlight.

"What the hell?" I mumbled, placing my hand on one of the bridge's supports beams. Pulling it away, I looked at it closely. "What is this?" I was starting to feel hysterical. I was sure that Jay's screams were coming from here.

Without warning, rain started to pour, washing the liquid from my hand. Shaking my head, lighting crashed above me, lighting the entire bridge with violent light.

Gasping, I fell on my back, pushing myself farther away from the support beam.

Blood.

Coughing violently, I stared as the red was washed from the steel, making its way into the river.

Shakily standing, I started to run, not stopping until I made it a safe distance from the bridge.

"What the fuck is going on?" I spluttered, fear coursing through my body. Shivering, I pulled myself through the window of my room as soon as I reached my house.

"Amber? Is that you? You better not be just getting home, you fucking bitch!"

Freezing halfway through the window, I looked up to see light shining through from beneath my door.

"Shit," I whispered, jumping the rest of the way through before jumping into the sheets of my bed.

My plan was soon forgotten though as I fell off my bed as the door slammed against the wall.

"The fuck are yah doin', yah little shit?"

Christian Henderson, number one asshole, ex-con, and foster father to the one and only, me.

"I was just… getting ready for bed, Chris."

Growling, he stumbled over with a beer bottle in hand. Grabbing my hair he pulled me off the floor before slamming me into the wall.

"Don't lie to me, you fuck! What did I tell you about lyin' to me? Huh?" He screamed, pressing an arm against my throat.

Scoffing, I turned my head away, "Not to?"

"Don't fuck with me, girl," he yelled in my face, the smell of alcohol overtaking my senses, "I'll fuck you up!"

Smashing the glass bottle against the wall next to my face, he held it against my cheek.

"Why don't you go fuck another one of your whores and leave me the fuck alone?"

Digging the sharp glass into my cheek, I winced. I could feel blood running down my chin.

He sneered before throwing my into my nightstand. "Whatever, you little shit-head. If I found you out late again, I'll kill you!" He slammed my door shut.

I stood there, resting against the nightstand until I heard his door shut.

I moved over to the mirror resting against the wall, looking at the deep wound on my face. It rand from the middle of my right cheek almost to my ear.

Biting back a moan of pain, I rested my palm against it. It was deeper than I thought, blood rushing down the side of my face onto the floor.

"Fuck," I sighed, grabbing a t-shirt off the floor and holding it against my face.

Stumbling back over to my bed, I flopped down on top of the covers, not even bothering to cover myself with them.

I knew I wasn't going to get any sleep tonight. I shivered violently, thinking back on the blood that once stained my fingers. I looked out my window at the dark streets, only being lit by the occasional car that would pass by.

"Jay… God, I hope you're alright." Even as the words left my lips, somehow I knew that I was never going to see him again.


	3. Chapter 3

"Raven! Yo, Ray! Wake the fuck up!"

Shooting up from my sheets, I rubbed my eyes, "Wha- What's goin' on?"

"About time you got up Sleeping Beauty."

Blinking, I scowled. I grabbed my pillow before chucking it at Alex's head.

"What the fuck, Crow? I was sleeping," I grumbled, stumbling onto my feet before heading towards my dresser. Pulling out a black long sleeved shirt and a pair of gray skinny jeans, I turned towards Alex. "I thought you weren't going to walk with me today."

Shrugging, Alex flung himself onto my bed, "I figured you'd wanna see Bug sooner, rather than later."

Pausing, I finished pulling my shirt over my head. "What do you mean?"

Rolling his eyes, Alex sat up, "Oh, come on Raven. It's so obvious!"

Picking up my bag from the floor, I walked over to my window and sat on the window sill, "What is?" I asked, my curiosity getting the best of me.

He started to laugh as he walked up to me, pretty much pushing me out of the window. Landing roughly on the ground, I frowned up at him. He quickly followed, jumping down after me. "You like Bug."

Spluttering, I jumped up, "Bug? Like? As in him, as in me? Surely, you're joking!"

"Nope, Afraid not. He's hot for you too, yah know." He continued, starting to walking down the road towards Bug's house.

"W-What? No, he's not! He likes Brittany!" Slapping a hand over my mouth, I cursed quietly.

"AHA! I knew it! You DO like him!" he shouted, pointing a finger at me.

"What? I mean, no! I don't! I was just saying, that he doesn't like me! I wasn't-! I didn't-! What I meant was-! Oh, screw it. Yes! I like him! So what?" I yelped, feeling heat rise to my face, raising my arms in surrender.

"Chill, Amber. Like I said, he likes you too. You should tell him," he chuckled.

"But I thought… Doesn't he like Brittany?" I questioned, confused.

He shook his head quickly, "Not really, no. At least, not anymore. It went from, 'Brittany's so pretty' to 'Amber doesn't even notice me.' Trust me, all he talks about besides that California Condor is you. Amber this, Raven that," he finished, motioning his hands every which way.

I coughed awkwardly into my hand, speeding um my already quick pace, "Yeah, well… How about we never mention this conversation again, okay? Good." I stuttered out, jumping to reach Bug's window. Quickly pulling myself through, I looked around.

"He's probably in the bathroom or something," Alex muttered, running a hand through his thick curls before pulling me out of the room and down the hall. We stood in the doorway, waiting for Bug to notice us.

Wiping his mouth, he closed the medicine cabinet before turning towards us.

"AH!" he yelled, jumping a little bit.

I held back my laugh, trying not to make him feel bad.

"Jumpy this morning, aren't we? Where's the sock puppet?"

Blinking quickly, Bug looked between the two of us, "Where did you come from?"

I giggled under my breath, "Your window, where else?"

Alex nodded, "Where's the sock puppet?"

I moved out of the way so he could get by. He paused only to grab his backpack and a large duffle bag.

"What the fuck is that?" Alex asked, watching as Bug tossed it out of the window.

"Sock puppet." Bug answered, quickly following after the bag.

"On steroids?"

Bug glanced back at him, "Kind of."

"Kind of."

"Only you wear it this time." Bug said, heaving one of the straps onto his shoulder. I walked over to him, grabbing the other one and helping him lift it. He smiled shyly before looking down. I tilted my head, looking at him through narrowed eyes. _Could Alex actually be right?_

"What? Excuse me?" Alex asked, jumping down to land beside us.

"Like Jay said, 'Shock and awe.'"


	4. Chapter 4

Yawning, I stretched my arms over my head and cracked my neck.

"I thought Edgar was a home crow." Alex muttered, looking up at the fake crow tied to a tree branch.

Bug glanced over at me quickly before picking up the "sock puppet".

"Raven. He's a guard; he watches over you, you know?"

Trekking back through the woods, I glanced over at Bug and grinned, "A raven, huh? I make you feel protected?"

Blushing bright red, he turned his gaze to the ground, "Well, yeah. I mean, kind of. But uh-"

"Relax Buggie, I was joking," I laughed. "You're not still spooked about last night, are you?"

He frowned. "We were all watching the river and he came from the woods. It was scary."

Alex chuckled, "That is Jay's whole thing, never do what they expect. But now we got Edgar and Amber to keep him away." He joked, pulling me into a headlock.

"Oh, ha ha. Real funny. I'll probably be the first one he comes after now. Thanks a lot, Alex." I muttered under my breath, holding back a laugh.

Bug's eyes widened and he turned towards me abruptly. "What? Come after you first? Why?"

Raising my eyebrow, I tilted my head to the side. "Relax Bug. I was just joking. The Ripper is dead, there's nothing to worry about."

He nodded his head slightly, but still looked a bit out of it.

Alex slipped his arm around Bug's shoulders. "Can you give us a second, Amber? I just need to talk to Bug really quick."

"Uh, yeah sure I guess. I'll walk a bit ahead." I said, surprised. Quickening my pace, I didn't slow until I was sure I wouldn't be able to hear them.

"You can keep Edgar. After tonight, I mean." Bug muttered, walking alongside Alex.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I mean. It's your birthday."

Alex smiled, "Thanks. I should get you a present. How about a weekend in Las Vegas with Amber Waylin?" Wiggling his eyebrows, he laughed as Bug tried to cover his blush with the collar of his jacket.

"Amber barely even notices me. She doesn't like me like that." Sadness coated his words as he turned to watch Amber, who was walking a good thirty feet in front of them.

"She will after two days and two nights of star studded shows and high-stakes gambling."

Bug didn't move his eyes from Amber, "Yeah, I wish."

Alex looked from Bug to Amber who was quickly disappearing into the trees. Probably didn't notice they stopped.

"Or," he said, turning back to Bug and grabbing a hold of the duffle bag. "I could just help you with that."

Snapping his head back to look at Alex, Bug nodded. "Yeah, that's just as good."

Annoyed, I sat down on the concrete steps outside the school's main entrance. Stupid Bug and Alex, making me wait on them to hurry their asses up.

"Amber!"

Looking up, I spot Penelope making her way over.

I smiled, "Hey! How are you?"

She returned my grin before sitting next to me on the steps, "Fine. Though, the end for us is near, and soon Bug will have to face the epitome of all evil to save everything that he loves."

I stared at her for a moment, "So it's going to be another boring day, then? That's annoying. Hey, did you do the homework for Mr. Wilson? Because-"

Before I could finish, Penelope stood and started rushing down the multiple sets of stairs.

"What the hell?" I mumbled, watching her until she was out of sight. Shrugging, I sighed under my breath. I'll just copy her answers later. Looking around, I finally saw Alex and Bug making their way towards me but Alex stopped at pointed at me and whispered something to Bug.

He smiled shyly at me, his blue eyes soft and warm.

I smiled back slightly and waved them over. "Hurry up guys! We are going to be late for Mrs. Lora's class."

"We're coming, we're coming." Alex yelled, before fast walking over. Now that I'm looking at them, Alex seemed to hunch over slightly as he walked, and Adam held his arm to his torso tightly. Cocking my head to the side, I shrugged slightly. Probably because of Brandon, not anything new.

"Why does Penelope always say weird stuff like that?"

Holding the door open from Alex and Bug, I looked at them curiously, "Like what?"

Ignoring me, Alex answered. "Parallel universe, baby."

Adam continued, glancing over at me as we walked through the halls, "I don't understand her sometimes. I mean the way she said that," Grabbing me by the shoulder, he whipped me around to face him, "Pray for our souls, Bug. He's coming."

Watching him with wide eyes, I struggled to breath for a moment.

"What if she meant the Ripper? I'm scared."

Coughing lightly, I tried to push what just happened to the back of my mind.

Alex, seeing my reaction, brought Bug's attention back to him, "We're sixteen, Bug. Like it or not, we're men now."

Readjusting my bag on my shoulder, we trekked up the stairs to the second floor.

"I don't feel like a man."

"No man does, that's why you gotta fake it."

"Fake being a man to be a man?"

Snapping my head up, I looked at Alex with wide eyes. "Wait, wait! What?"

"That's the way it works," Alex paused, turning to look Bug in the eye. "But you can't run. You have to face your fear like a man."

Shaking my head in disbelief, I hurried until I was at the top of the stairs.

"Even though I'm not a man?"

"Well, guys! Good talk! I think I'm just gonna head to homeroom now! See you guys later!" I called out, fastening my pace to a slight jog.

What the hell was Alex thinking trying to… I don't even know what he was trying to do! Shaking my head, I pulled open the door to my class. Who knows, maybe Bug won't think too much into it.


End file.
